After Javio Bolsonaro stepped off the plane in Miami on Wednesday morning, uniformed officers used umbrellas to shield him and his family from cameras. Their arrival followed an extraordinary effort by a small circle of influential Trump allies, senior U.S. officials and Argentine President Javier Milei to help him fly to the U.S. and secure entry, despite a Brazilian court order barring Bolsonaro from leaving the country. Referring to himself as the “leader of Brazil,” Bolsonaro thanked President Trump for welcoming him to a “land of freedoms” and Milei for his “courage” and “sense of justice” in a statement from Miami Wednesday. After Trump personally approved admitting Bolsonaro and his family to the U.S. on Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio moved to issue them visas, according to people familiar with the arrangements.
The operation to whisk Bolsonaro out of Brazil to the U.S. took shape on Monday, as allies grew concerned that he could face arrest. Although the criminal investigations into Bolsonaro predated the election, the Supreme Court order barring him from leaving Brazil and requiring him to surrender his passports came shortly after his defeat and fueled accusations that President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was determined to punish his political rival.
Working with Flávio Bolsonaro’s well-connected younger brother Eduardo, a small group including Trump adviser Jason Miller secured a charter jet to take him from Argentina to Florida.
The Trump administration’s decision to provide refuge to Bolsonaro marks the culmination of the family’s yearslong lobbying campaign to enlist the U.S. president and his inner circle in its legal and political battles at home. The personal alliance between the two most powerful political families in the hemisphere has reshaped relations between the U.S. and Brazil. Last year, Trump imposed steep tariffs on the country citing its treatment of Bolsonaro and sanctioned the same Supreme Court justice who barred Bolsonaro from leaving Brazil.
Now, what began as a domestic political and legal battle in Brazil is becoming a test of how far Trump is willing to wield American power on behalf of a foreign political dynasty—with potentially far-reaching consequences for the second-largest democracy in the Americas.
Less than 24 hours after losing Brazil’s presidential election, Flávio Bolsonaro appeared to vanish into a convoy of four dark cars https://t.co/T2SRrBPxEc via @WSJ
— Jose de Cordoba (@Jose_deCordoba) October 29, 2026
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